


Crabtacular

by Pappels (SabakuNoKel)



Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: Confessions, M/M, Pre-Movie(s), Shapeshifting, a smooch, unsuccessful attempts at flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-19 04:09:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10631904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SabakuNoKel/pseuds/Pappels
Summary: Maui has been trying to seduce Tamatoa for ages to no result. So he tries something different that will hopefully get the monster to notice him.It doesn't go well.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Yo this is part of a trade with Radiantroach on tumblr go check them out!  
> http://radiantroach.tumblr.com/

Maui was sulking. Tamatoa hadn't been in the lair when he arrived, likely out scavenging for treasure, so he'd had to sit around and wait for the other to return with nothing but his own thoughts to entertain him in the meanwhile. His thoughts always circled back to Tamatoa and his so far unsuccessful attempts at seducing the other though.

Maui didn’t like not succeeding at the things he set out to do. He was supposed to be the best at everything but making one little crab— okay, Tamatoa wasn’t exactly _little_ being a giant sized monster and all— fall for him was apparently the one thing he couldn’t do.

He'd pulled out his best moves too and nothing, nada, zilch.

When they went out together Maui always went out of his way to show off some great feat of strength in the hopes of impressing the other but while lifting stuff that weighed several hundred pounds might impress a human to a monster like Tamatoa it wasn’t anything special.

Telling stories of the amazing things he'd done hadn't awed the crustacean either since Tamatoa had heard them all before and if it didn’t involve gold or jewels the other just wasn’t that interested.

Complementing the monster also hadn't worked as Tamatoa merely took each compliment as though Maui was simply stating a fact rather than see it as a legitimate act of flattery.

"Looking good today, Tama."

"I look good everyday, darling, but thank you for noticing."

"Did your shell get shinier or is that just your natural glow?"

"I'm glad you asked because I found this new shipwreck and…"

He didn’t get it, usually it didn’t take more than a wink and some flexing for people to trip over themselves to have a taste of him but with Tamatoa it was like the crustacean didn’t even realize Maui was flirting with him.

Crustacean.

Maybe that was it. All this time he'd been flirting with Tamatoa like he would with a human but the other wasn’t human. He'd never considered the monster might not find him attractive because of their differing species (he was the pinnacle of beauty by human standards after all) but maybe if he put the moves on Tamatoa while looking like a monster the other would finally notice him.

Only one way to find out.

He hopped to his feet and took hold of his hook with both hands as he braced himself for the feeling of his body shifting shape. A little voice inside his head whispered that he should probably give this some more thought before attempting something he'd never even considered before but Maui was a demigod of action so he disregarded that voice as he focused his magic into his hook before pulling it back into his body.

There was a brief flash of blue before he felt his body start to stretch and expand, forming extra limbs and reshaping the ones he had all in the blink of an eye. When it was done Maui felt the strain it put on him to retain such a large and unfamiliar form, having grown to a size he'd never had to hold for a long period of time before. He had to fight the urge to let go of the shape he had taken and return to his familiar skin.

Maybe he should have started with a smaller monster.

It was requiring all his focus to keep his form as it was and while he would surely be exhausted later, both physically and mentally, it would be worth it if Tamatoa finally took an interest in him.

Once he was fairly confident he could retain a steady hold on his new form Maui opened his eyes, blinks slightly out of sync, and looked around though the eyes of a giant crab monster. The view wasn’t that much different, he was just higher up than he was used to, but there was a noticeable change in his other senses. He could feel the moisture in the air and the currents as they passed through the lair bringing the sounds of the world outside with it, sounds that would have gone unnoticed by his human ears now registering loud and clear.

Something roared in the distance and he turned his gaze in the direction of the sound but only one eye moved, a sensation that was quite disorienting and if he hadn't had as many limbs as he had to support him he might have fallen as a result.

Maui growled in frustration, the rumbling sound echoing throughout the cavern.

This was a lot harder than he'd expected. How was he ever going to seduce Tamatoa if he couldn’t even get his eyes to work with him?

He just needed practice, Maui told himself, and there was no better time than the present. It took a couple of attempts but he eventually figured out how to move his eyes in the same direction. Now with full control of his vision Maui regarded what little he could see of himself with curiosity.

Instantly he was drawn to the large claws that had replaced his hands. The first thing he noticed was that he didn’t have the bright coloring typical of monsters in Lalotai, instead his carapace was a neutral brown that matched his original skin tone. A slightly darker mark ran along his left claw in the familiar shape of his hook.

Next he tilted his eyestalks back (and wasn’t that an odd feeling) to regard his shell. At least there was a pop of color there. His shell was a bright green and covered in zigzagging lines similar to his tattoos and while not as shiny as Tamatoa's decorated shell Maui thought it looked quite striking.

He hoped Tamatoa liked what he saw or it was going to be hard to put the moves on him.

Speaking of moves.

He struggled for a bit trying to figure out how to move his many limbs without losing his balance, almost crashing into a wall as he took his first tentative steps around the lair. Luckily he picked up walking in his new form rather quickly after that, his experience as a beetle likely aiding him somewhat.

He was still trying to work out moving backwards when one of his antennae twitched at the sound of something large approaching. It had to be Tamatoa returning from wherever he'd been since no other monster of that size would come near the crustacean's territory. He'd hoped to have a bit more time to get used to his new form but by the time Maui had managed to turn around to face the entrance Tamatoa had already arrived.

The giant crustacean paused in the large opening, surprise written clear on his face before it was quickly replaced by anger, a threatening rumble coming from the monster as he glared at the shape shifted demigod.

Oh crap.

He hadn't actually thought about how Tamatoa might react to finding another monster in his lair, an oversight that could come to cost him if he didn’t do something fast.

Tamatoa's narrowed eyes glared at him as he snipped his claws in warning, lowering himself closer to the ground in a clear sign he was about to attack the presumed intruder.

Maui panicked.

And lost his focus.

It was like his whole body just popped as he lost control over his shape shifted form and turned back into his usual self. He hovered in the air for a split second before the ground came rushing up to meet him.

"Ow." He groaned around a mouthful of sand.

Damn, his whole body was on _fire_.

His arms trembled as he pushed himself up and he barely managed to flip onto his back before collapsing back onto the ground.

How pathetic. He was supposed to be impressing Tamatoa but instead he was doing the exact opposite. Maui rolled his eyes around to look at the monster to gauge his reaction to the rather shameful display.

Tamatoa stood frozen in the entrance, his claws still raised for the attack but the earlier intent was lacking, replaced entirely by disbelief and surprise. When their eyes met the crustacean blinked, shaking his shock away as he peered curiously at the unmoving demigod.

"Maui? I thought I scented you but why did you make yourself look like a giant crab?" Tamatoa scuttled closer, his giant face hovering over the other as he regarded Maui with a calculating look. "And why are you on the floor?"

"I can't move. I think I might have overdone things a bit holding such a large form for so long." Maui admitted. He tried to give the other a reassuring smile but he could tell Tamatoa wasn’t buying it, not that he blamed the crustacean. Maui had always bounced back from everything with relative ease so to find himself incapacitated like this was rare. He would recover of course but right now he was still too magically drained to relieve the ache in his bones.

"What were you even trying to achieve by turning into a monster?" Tamatoa asked as he pushed a claw into the soft sand and scooped him up, careful not to jostle him around too much.

"That was very dangerous by the way. I could have killed you if you hadn't turned back when you did." The monster admonished, going for a stern tone though his eyes filled with concern as Maui bit back a pained hiss as he forced himself to sit upright.

"Well you didn’t notice when I flirted with you before so I thought turning into a giant crab might get your attention." Maui admitted, hoping his nonchalance would cover how nervous he was feeling. Since his latest plan to seduce the other had failed spectacularly he was left with no other option than honesty. He just hoped Tamatoa wouldn't laugh in his face when he realized Maui had been trying to make a move on him for literal decades.

The monster gave him a confused look.

"You were flirting with me?" Tamatoa said which only confirmed what he'd already suspected. Years of seduction attempts and the other hadn't even noticed. Great.

"Come on, I've been strutting my stuff for ages how did you not get it?" Maui groaned, the sting of failure sharper than any pain he currently felt.

"Showing off you mean." Tamatoa pointed out. Despite the pain Maui felt the corner or his mouth pull up into a half-smile at the other's comment—he wasn't wrong after all— and if he'd been able to he would have shrugged a shoulder.

"Well yeah, but I was only showing off because I was trying to impress you." He decided that since Tamatoa knew how he felt now there was no reason to hold back anymore.

"You don't have to do anything special for that." Tamatoa declared, surprising him.

An implication like that could only mean one thing, right?

"Really?" Maui asked as he stared up at the other with hopeful eyes. One of Tamatoa's antennae came down to gently caress his face, the simple touch sending his heart racing.

"And you don't need to change for me to notice you either. You look fine the way you are." Tamatoa said decisively. "More than fine." He added on, a sultry grin appearing on the crustacean's face.

Maui breathed out a laugh, still in slight disbelief at the unexpected turn their conversation had taken.

" _You're_ flirting with _me_ now right?" Maui asked which made the grin fall from Tamatoa's face. The monster shot him an annoyed look though it lasted only a second as Maui brought up his hand to stroke a thumb over the antenna resting on his cheek in reassurance, the other's face instantly softening.

"Yes, I'm flirting with you." Tamatoa confirmed as his irritation melted away under the demigod's touch.

"Just making sure." Maui laughed though a quick flash of pain killed the sound in his throat. The monster winced, his eyes looking the other over even though they both knew he had no visible injuries to tend to.

"Are you in much pain?" Tamatoa's concern was heartwarming which actually eased the pain somewhat.

"I'll live." Maui gave the other a reassuring smile though it quickly grew into a smirk as a thought came to him.

"You know the humans believe a kiss can soothe any ache." He informed, quirking his brow at the monster. He didn’t know if Tamatoa would indulge him but he certainly hoped he did.

Tamatoa chuckled, rolling his eyes fondly. "I should let you suffer, you did this to yourself after all."

Maui smiled as the monster's kiss covered half of his face.

It was still the best kiss he'd ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> Maui trying to flirt with Tamatoa is like a really vain peacock tying to seduce another vain peacock, it just doesn't work ʅ（´◔౪◔）ʃ
> 
> Still open to prompts/questions/trades on my tumblr ;)  
> http://pepperedappels.tumblr.com/


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